Polestar 5 GT will debut in Munich with ultrafast charging

Another Porsche Taycan rival is close to launch. Special features include a particularly rigid platform with fresh battery tech that permits charging in minutes. Full details and a reveal of the GT’s interior await September’s Munich motor show. 

Underpinning the GT, which closely resembles the Precept concept of 2020, is a British-engineered chassis with heroic levels of stiffness. The Model 5 from Polestar is the first to use the new scalable aluminium architecture developed by the firm at its MIRA proving facility. This new platform design will also feature in the drop-top Polestar 6 sports car due out next year. The platform is claimed to offer “carbon fibre levels of torsional stiffness, like a two-door sports model”.

There’s also the 800V electrical architecture that permits ‘extreme fast-charging’. Polestar says the 5’s rapid-charging capability means it can add 160km of range in five minutes without battery degradation long term.

Polestar CEO, Michael Lohscheller, said that full charging time comes down to 18 or 19 minutes with the 800v architecture. The so-called extreme fast-charging (XFC) is a collaboration between Polestar and StoreDot, which the car maker part owns.

Check out our review of Polestar 4 here.

Evidently, XFC can be integrated into existing battery technology, saving on development funds. StoreDot CEO, Doron Myersdorf, stated “It’s a game-changer as it uses traditional lithium ion and then adapts it for fast charging.”

Performance potential

Polestar has already confirmed a power output of 652kW and 900Nm of torque from its twin electric motors. The rear motor alone is good for 450kW.

The company claims its flagship EV will be the lightest in its class. That’s in part because the 5’s body is made from bonded aluminium, as is the chassis.

Polestar UK chief engineer, Dave Kane, says the result is also “class-leading ride and handling dynamics”. Evidently the battery pack, size as yet unspecified, is integrated within the platform.

Polestar has used its most obvious competitor, the Taycan, for benchmarking. However, the Swede is aiming for more everyday compliance rather than chasing sports car handling alone. They describe its character as “engaging but also comfortable”. 

Evidently motorsport-derived underbody aerodynamics and a slippery body shape add to its overall performance. It rides almost as low as an ICE power car, according to Polestar, no easy feat for an EV. 

Much of the engineering work on the 5 is with an eye to future Polestar products. The 6 will be the second model to be built on the new architecture. Both will be produced in the same factory from 2026. The Model 6 launches a year after the 5 arrives.